David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance is in “advanced talks” with California Attorney General Rob Bonta to settle the 12-state antitrust suit that’s holding up its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing anonymous sources.
A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment. A rep for Bonta’s office said, “Potential settlement talks are confidential. We cannot confirm or deny whether settlement talks are occurring or their alleged substance.”
Per the Journal’s report, the talks are “ongoing and there is no guarantee that an agreement will be reached.” Paramount and the California AG have “discussed compromises including Paramount agreeing to operate the two companies’ movie studios separately for a period rather than immediately combining them,” according to the WSJ article.
However, Bonta has previously said that running the two companies separately — but under common ownership — would be a mere “behavioral” remedy, and that he is looking for a structural remedy that would entail separate ownership.
A judge has scheduled a trial in the matter for March 2027. Paramount had requested that the 12 states — and the Writers Guild of America, which also has filed an antitrust suit seeking to block the Paramount-WBD deal — post a $1.88 billion bond to cover its potential losses from a “ticking fee” payable to WBD shareholders (starting as of Oct. 1 at a rate of $7 million per day) if Paramount ends up prevailing in court. A hearing on the bond motion is set for Sept. 24.
David Ellison has internally told Paramount execs he’s seriously considering relocating the company’s operations — including, over a longer time horizon, its studio — out of California if Paramount is unable to close the Warner Bros. deal by the end of September. He’s floated the possibility of moving the company to Tennessee, Texas or Georgia.
Paramount and a dozen states led by California attorney general Rob Bonta are closing in on a deal to settle a lawsuit challenging the studio’s bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The two sides are in “advanced talks” to resolve the case, per the report. Under the reported deal, terms include “Paramount agreeing to operate the two companies’ movie studios separately for a period rather than immediately combining them.”
In another sign that a deal is imminent, Reuters reported that an agreement could come “as soon as this weekend.” The settlement could require independent content monitoring of CNN, plus a commitment on the number of theatrical releases.
Across the litigation, Bonta has maintained he’ll only accept structural remedies, which typically involve companies selling off parts of the combined business, and has previously said such an agreement to run studio operations independently cannot be the primary component of any potential deal. So far, Paramount has only offered behavioral concessions, including a pledge to release at least 30 movies with 45-day theatrical windows.
A deal struck without any divestitures would be a major win for Paramount CEO David Ellison, who’s threatened to move the studio out of California if an agreement isn’t reached by the start of next month regardless of the ultimate outcome of the case. With a settlement, Paramount would be able to close the merger ahead of an Oct. 1 deadline when a so-called $7 million-per-day ticking fee will start to accrue.
The discussions are “ongoing and there is no guarantee that an agreement will be reached,” the story added.
“Potential settlement talks are confidential,” said a spokesperson for Bonta’s office in a statement. “We cannot confirm or deny whether settlement talks are occurring or their alleged substance.”
Paramount declined to comment.
Movement on deal talks have been slow, with leaks having blown up discussions in public jockeying over a settlement. Last month, Bonta canceled a meeting with Paramount scheduled for the following day, accusing the studio’s representatives of leaking and misrepresenting details of negotiations they held.
A trial is scheduled to start in March, with Paramount, the states and the Writers Guild of America slated to formally sit down for two consecutive days starting on Oct. 14 to explore a settlement.
A key regulatory approval came on Thursday when the FCC signed off on equity investments from three prominent Middle East sovereign wealth funds that are backing Paramount’s bid. The sovereign wealth funds are collectively providing roughly $24 billion in financing to help bankroll Paramount’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, according to SEC filings. Their investment, along with that of others, will result in foreign investors collectively holding 49.5% of the combined company.
In “Without Blood,” written and directed by Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek plays Nina, a woman who spends her adult life looking for the three men responsible for the wartime murder of her father and brother when she was just a child.
In two of the cases, her revenge is fatal. But then she meets the third accomplice, Tito (Demián Bichir), now a clerk in a newspaper kiosk at a train station.
The movie is in many ways a two-hander featuring Nina and Tito talking over drinks with flashback scenes chronicling both of their sometimes harrowing lives.
“I was afraid that I couldn’t play this part, and also I was afraid to go so far every day at work and go into this really difficult place,” Hayek says during a joint interview with Jolie. “At the beginning, I wasn’t sure that Angelina was directing. I thought she was just producing. I’m like, ‘Oh no, I don’t want to suffer like that. I don’t want to.’ And then she started talking to me about the importance of the piece. And then you have to understand that Angelina is an extraordinary director.”
“Without Blood” is an adaptation of Italian writer Alessandro Baricco’s novella of the same name. Like the book, the movie doesn’t specify the time or the location where the story takes place, nor identify the war at the center of the story. The characters speak English and Spanish.
“I wanted it to be that anyone watching it from anywhere could identify with it,” Jolie says. “Even if it wasn’t an actual war or a conflict, there’s something beautiful in the book where it says, ‘We return to where we break.’ So part of the conflict and the idea of the film is that anybody can identify with something in your life where something happened where it broke you and changed you, and how much you wish you could sit across from that person and have answers and have some kind of say your piece and hope that they could see you and hope that it gives you some kind of healing or closure. Of course, sometimes it doesn’t give you what you think you’re looking for or doesn’t heal those.”
This isn’t the first time Jolie has made a film about war and conflict. Her directorial debut was the Bosnian war drama “In the Land of Blood and Money” in 2011. “Unbroken” (2014) told the story of American prisoners-of-war during World War II. The life of Cambodian author and human rights activist Loung Ung under the rule of the Khmer Rouge was the subject of “First They Killed My Father” in 2017.
“In ‘First They Killed My Father,’ we had trauma therapy tents because a lot of people there had been through war and I’ve learned that everybody’s been through some level of trauma,” Jolie says. “What we did on this was the time spent with everybody discussing it. We all ended up spending a lot of time talking about our pain, talking about our losses, our traumas. Obviously, community can be very, very healing.”
Jolie and Hayek Pinault first worked together five years ago when they co-starred in the Marvel movie “Eternals.” Next, Jolie will serve as a producer on Hayek Pinault’s directorial debut, “Arena,” an epic romantic adventure that the “Frida” star also wrote.
“In a way, she’s my partner,” Hayek Pinault says. “I’ve written two different scripts with two different pens that she gave me. It’s a really good, enriching and artistic relationship. That is hard to find. It’s such a gift.”
I asked Jolie if she’s ever been tempted to direct lighter material like a comedy. “We’ve laughed a lot. We fantasized about making different comedies together,” Hayek Pinault says.
Jolie laughs, “My comedies tend to be a bit dark. I think I have a dark sense of humor.”
Hayek Pinault turns to Jolie and says, “You’re funny. So funny. She just keeps it a secret.”
Jolie isn’t sure she has what it takes to helm comedy. “I don’t know how good I’d be. You have those things that we think, as an actress, you like to try everything and then you get to a point you realize other actors are good at certain things and there are many who are better at comedy than I am. But I do think I’m a pretty good straight person, like the ‘Maleficent.’ I’m a good straight.”
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It’s week two in the NFL season and we’re already seeing a big rivalry game between two NFC North teams. Although both the Vikings and the Bears are 1-0 on the season, this game has a little more weight since it’s a division matchup. Whichever teams wins this Sunday, they’re one step closer to winning the division and having better placement in the NFL Playoffs in January 2027.
On Sunday, Sept. 20, you can watch Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, while the NFL game broadcasts on FOX.
Want to watch the game online? FOX is a network available via Sling Blue.
Right now, Sling Blue goes for $54.99 per month, while the streaming package comes with FOX for the Vikings vs. Bears game. It’s the best plan for the best news and entertainment. Sling Blue comes with ABC and NBC (in select markets), as well as more than 40 other channels, like Bravo, Cartoon Network, Discovery Channel, E!, FOX Sports, FX, FOX News, MS Now, NFL Network, National Geographic, SYFY, TLC, USA Network, A&E, AMC, BBC America, BET, CNN, Comedy Central, Food Network, Fuse, HGTV, History Channel, IFC, Lifetime, Nick Jr., QVC, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, Vice and many others.
Meanwhile, a subscription to Sling Blue also gets you access to the FOX One streaming service at no extra cost (a $19.99 per month value).
Additionally, you can get the Sling TV Season Pass, which starts at $199.99 when you prepay for five months of service. It’s ideal for the NFL season to watch more games online. It comes with the higher tier Orange + Blue plan, as well as the Sling Sports Extra, which comes with more sports channels, like NFL RedZone, NBA TV, NHL Network, MLB Network, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, SEC Network, ESPNews, ESPNU and others. With Sling TV Season Pass, you’ll get more than 60 channels for NFL games and other live sports.
All Sling TV plans have live TV over the internet, on-demand movie and TV shows, 50 hours of cloud DVR storage and up to three streams across devices, such as smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, laptops and web browsers, at the same time.
On Sunday, Sept. 20, you can livestream Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears, with a start time of 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT on FOX with Sling Blue, below:
The crypto market is doing well today, with most tokens being in the green, and the valuation hitting $2.76 trillion. This rally continued even after the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan (BoJ) hiked interest rates, and as crude oil remained at an elevated level. This article provides a forecast for top tokens like Near Protocol ($NEAR), Venice Token ($VVV), and Hyperliquid ($HYPE).
$NEAR Protocol price forecast
$NEAR Protocol is a top crypto project that runs a layer-1 network, a privacy-focused trading platform, and an AI agent marketplace. This positioning has helped it to perform well in the past few months, outperforming mainstream coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP.
The token continued rising this week, reaching a high of $3.7830, much higher than the year-to-date low of $0.8490. This surge makes it one of the top gainers in the crypto industry this year.
The token has jumped above the key resistance level of $3.08, the upper side of the cup-and-handle pattern. This pattern normally leads to more gains since it is one of the most common continuation signs in technical analysis.
The token has jumped above all moving averages and the Supertrend indicator. At the same time, the Average Directional Index (ADX) has continued rising, a sign that the trend is gaining momentum.
The risk, however, is that the token has become highly overbought, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) rising to 85. Therefore, there is a risk that the token will retreat and retest the support level of $3.08 and then resume the upward trend. This pattern is known as a break-and-retest pattern.
$NEAR price chart | Source: TradingView
Venice Token price forecast
Venice AI is a top project in the artificial intelligence industry, where it runs a platform that allows people to search different models, including from companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Grok. Users pay for the platform using fiat currency, with the company using part of the fees to buy and burn its tokens. It burned $VVV tokens worth over $702k last month and has now burned $673k this month.
Venice Token price has been in a strong rally this year and is hovering around its all-time high. It was trading at $27.25, a few points below the record high of $29.30. It remains slightly above the key resistance level of $21.48, the upper side of the cup-and-handle pattern. It has already formed a break-and-retest pattern.
The token has also remained above all moving averages. Therefore, the path of the least resistance for the token is upward, with the next key target to watch being at $35.
$VVV price chart | Source: TradingView
Hyperliquid price forecast
$HYPE price has been in a strong upward trend after President Donald Trump signaled that he will support its entry into the United States. It also rose after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) supported tokenization of stocks in the United States.
Hyperliquid is also seeing strong demand in its platform, with the volume in its perpetual DEX platform rising to over $240 billion in the last 30 days. This volume is much higher than its top peers like Aster and Lighter.
$HYPE price chart | Source: TradingView
The token has also completed the formation of a break-and-retest pattern by falling back to $76, its highest level on June 16. It also moved above the key resistance level of $89.38, its previous all-time high. Therefore, the path of least resistance for the coin is upwards, with the next target being at $100.
It’s officially the last New Music Friday of the summer, and artists did not play when it came to dropping fresh bangers. From A-list names and collaborations to highly anticipated albums, get your playlist ready and let’s have some musical fun.
Maluma & Shakira – AGUA
Shakira and Maluma reunite on “Agua,” their first major collaboration since 2018’s “Clandestino.” It marks their first merengue together, and they did not miss. The Colombian superstars turn up the heat and show off their chemistry and sexual energy in the spicy music video. Shakira looks incredible, per usual, as she flaunts her amazing body and signature dance moves.
CA7RIEL, Paco Amoroso, PinkPantheress, Fred again..–Sexy Magic
CA7RIEL, Paco Amoroso, PinkPantheress, and Fred again come together for “Sexy Magic,” which is featured on the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto VI soundtrack. CA7RIEL and Paco Amoroso are on fire, scoring 7 nominations at the Latin GRAMMYS, the second most after producer Edgar Barrera.
Piso 21, Micro TDH & Gangsta – Segunda Cita
Piso 21, Micro TDH & Gangsta will have you feeling flirty and ready for date night with “Segunda Cita.” It’s a powerhouse collaboration with all the artists seamlessly blending their sounds. It includes a sweet moment with Micro TDH celebrating their first collab with Piso 21, “Te VI’s” initiation into the billions club on Spotify.
Michelle Maciel – espresso martini
Mexican singer-songwriter Michelle Macielbegins a new chapter with her album La Gloria, a 13-track project that explores love, personal growth, and experimentation while blending corridos, reggaetón, and boleros. The album’s focus track, “Dolencias,” featuring Ana Gloria, brings the two artists together for a fun, dance floor-ready collaboration that highlights Maciel’s ability to move between genres.
Zulia – Birkin
Following the release of his album Ya No Me Importa Si Nadie Me Escucha, Venezuelan rising star Zulia drops “Birkin.” The singer has one of the most unique voices in music, with bold, sensual lyrics, and a smooth sound.
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Guaynaa- SE PARECE AL PAI
Puerto Rican singer Guaynaa gets into his salsa swag with “SE PARECE AL PAI.” The catchy track has incredible instrumentals, an infectious melody, and lyrics inspired by his own life as a father. It stars his wife, Lele Pons, and their daughter, Eloísa.
Rodrigo y Gabriela – Somos Como Tú
GRAMMY-winning Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela release their new album OurHome. They step into new territory with “Somos Como Tú,” their first-ever song featuring lyrics and vocals. The track explores migration, displacement, and the connections that unite people across cultures, marking a new chapter for the duo as they continue to expand beyond their signature acoustic sound.
Feid, Bad Gyal – DE DIOR XL
After postponing its release, Feid drops his new EP, EL GREEN PRINT: La Saga (Disc 2) – EL CLUB DE LAS 19 FLORES, the next chapter of his Green Print era. It includes collaborations with Vicente García, El Americano 4KT and Pirlo, Divino and Baby Ranks, Icon, Yandel, and Spanish star Bad Gyal.
Elvis Crespo, beele – PA´BAILAR
The one and only Elvis Crespo adds another collaboration with the new generation, this time with Beele. The genre-blending track has merengue, urban, and pop sounds with exciting instrumentals that will have you ready to move your hips.
MILEY – Let’s Get Married
Miley’s highly anticipated album Bass Persuades is here, and it’s beautiful. It’s the first album since dropping Cyrus and shows off the multifaceted sides of the singer. “Let’s Get Married” is a gorgeous track dedicated to her fiancé, Maxx Morando, and comes with an intimate music video starring the couple.
Polygon is preparing a permissionless contract that would let anyone permanently burn 100 million $POL, or about 83% of a base-fee collector that Polygon Foundation CEO Sandeep Nailwal said holds 121 million tokens.
Nailwal said the contracts are on testnet and would move to mainnet after the final Security Council signatures. The first call would destroy 100 million $POL at once, followed by quarterly burns that anyone in the community could trigger, he said.
Polygon’s documentation says the base fee is a network-determined charge that is burned. Nailwal said each base fee adds $POL to the collector. At the stated figures, the first burn would leave about 21 million $POL in the collector before additional fees accrue.
Burn Would Remove Less Than 1% of Supply
The 100 million-token burn equals 1% of $POL‘s initial 10 billion-token supply. Blockscout listed total supply at about 10.716 billion $POL, making the planned burn roughly 0.93% of the total.
The burn would not impose a hard cap on $POL. Polygon’s token documentation says $POL has ongoing emissions, with an effective annual rate of 2% beginning after June 2025. The planned one-time reduction is therefore less than half that annual rate when both are measured as a share of supply; whether supply contracts over time depends on subsequent fee burns relative to new issuance.
Nailwal said $POL had been deflationary since January 2026. He also claimed Polygon had generated $24.5 million in 2026 revenue, compared with $8.41 million for Arbitrum and $5.6 million for Near. He wrote that the comparison came from “my analyst at ChatGPT,” and the post did not identify a dataset or methodology.
The next step is mainnet deployment after the remaining Security Council approvals. As of Nailwal’s post, the first 100 million $POL had not yet been burned.
The Bank of Japan announced a policy-rate increase to about 1.25% on Sept. 18, yet the visible Bitcoin and currency response showed limited signs of a disorderly yen-carry unwind.
The BOJ voted 7-2 to lift its target for the uncollateralized overnight call rate by 25 basis points, from about 1% to about 1.25%. The new target and related facility rates take effect Sept. 24, so the decision changed the policy path before it changed the official operating rates.
That separates a scheduled funding-cost change from the market’s reaction to the announcement. Positions can adjust before implementation, and the BOJ’s next signal could matter as much as Sept. 24 because the bank tied further increases to its economic and inflation outlook instead of a fixed timetable.
That distinction matters for yen-funded trades. Investors can borrow yen to buy higher-returning assets elsewhere. A higher Japanese rate reduces the trade’s interest-rate advantage. If the yen appreciates, overseas borrowers must buy a more expensive currency to repay yen-denominated debt, increasing repayment costs in their home currency. Both forces can pressure leveraged risk positions, including crypto exposure.
The available evidence leaves the amount of Bitcoin exposure financed in yen unquantified. Coinbase Institutional’s review of the 2024 carry episode identified several simultaneous catalysts, including weak US economic data and pressure on technology stocks. Yen funding is one transmission channel among several that can shape crypto moves.
Bitcoin’s first response stayed orderly
At the BOJ’s 02:54 UTC release time, Coinbase one-minute data put Bitcoin’s closing price at $76,961. At 03:30 UTC, the one-minute close was $77,383. Bitcoin rose across those 36 minutes and continued throughout the day to reach as high as $81,000 intraday.
The currency move also ran against the simplest carry-unwind pattern. Reuters reported that the dollar climbed to a two-week high of 157.84 yen during BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda’s press conference, leaving the Japanese currency 1.2% weaker on the day. A visible synchronized unwind would more likely pair rapid yen appreciation with falling risk assets.
The initial reaction points to limited immediate unwind pressure in the observed markets. Longer-term risk remains open as the new rate takes effect and the BOJ considers its next steps.
The BOJ said financial conditions would remain accommodative, while retaining a conditional path toward additional rate increases if its economic and inflation outlook is realized. Sept. 24 starts implementation of the new setting. More diagnostic warnings would be sharp yen appreciation alongside falling crypto and equities, or a fresh signal that the BOJ will tighten again sooner than markets expect.
A video authentically shows a 104-year-old woman named Mabel Rose Thompson chiding U.S. President Donald Trump.
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In September 2026, Snopes readers searched this website for information about a video allegedly showing a 104-year-old woman named Mabel Rose Thompson chiding U.S. President Donald Trump.
A search located a Threads post (archived) from Sept. 15 displaying the clip with the onscreen caption, “At 104, I’ve Seen 18 Presidents. Trump Was the Most Unforgettable.” That Threads post featured the TikTok watermark for a user who previously posted (archived) the video and garnered more than 2 million views.
The video begins with the elderly woman saying she’s seen 18 presidents during her lifetime — a number that would mean, given her age, that Warren G. Harding would have been her first president:
Mabel Rose Thompson here. I’m 104 years old. I’ve seen 18 presidents sit in that office. And I’m going to tell you something that will make half of you furious and the other half want to buy me a drink.
Donald Trump was the worst man I have ever watched lead this country. Not because of taxes, not because of tariffs, not because of any policy you want to argue about at Thanksgiving. Because of character, because of what he did to the American heart. Because in 104 years, I have never seen a president who worked harder to make good people hate each other.
Now before you start typing, let me establish my credentials. I was born in 1922. I was 9 years old when Herbert Hoover was still in office. And I remember my father cursing his name at our kitchen table because the man couldn’t stop the hunger. I was 20 when Franklin Roosevelt died. My mother wept at the radio. I was 41 when they shot Kennedy in Dallas. I was folding laundry when the news came on. I dropped a towel and didn’t pick it up for an hour. I was 53 when Nixon got on that helicopter, waving that ridiculous double peace sign, flying away in shame.
I have voted in every single presidential election since 1944. I have lived under Democrats and Republicans and men so boring you forgot they were there. I have watched them all. And I am telling you plain, none of them, not Nixon, not Johnson, not anyone, none of them damaged the soul of this country the way that man did.
Further searches for the “At 104, I’ve Seen 18 Presidents” caption, as well as a reverse image search, yielded what appeared to be the original video (archived) posted on the Real Talk With Time YouTube channel (archived). That clip displayed the same title, “At 104, I’ve Seen 18 Presidents … Trump Was the Worst.” It also displayed YouTube’s user-enabled label for artificial-intelligence content — a descriptor creators can select when they upload a video.
In sum, the video is fake and was generated using AI. “Mabel Rose Thompson” is a fake name. An AI tool generated the elderly woman, the room in which she supposedly sat and all of the visible objects in it.
Snopes emailed the YouTube channel’s owner to ask what tools were used to make the videos, what inspired the clips and whether the channel’s content is created simply to make money. The channel’s only members-only video (watchable with a free trial that becomes a $9.99 recurring payment in the second month) showed a thumbnail image of a purported 112-year-old woman promising to tell how she avoided the diseases that killed her friends. We’ll update this article if we receive further information.
Detecting signs of AI
Beyond the YouTube video’s AI label, the elderly woman’s waxy-looking skin (another common tell in AI-generated images) confirms its artificiality.
Readers can spot another of the more common signs of AI content by examining the area behind the old woman. The bookshelf is filled with books, none of which appear to have legible letters and numerals on their spines. According to Northwestern University’s Kellogg Insight blog, illegible text is often an indicator of AI-generated images and videos.
A scan of one of the video’s still frames by the Pangram AI-detection tool displayed a “Fully AI” result: “We believe that this image is fully AI-generated.” A separate Pangram scan of the video’s spoken text displayed concluded: “100% of this text is AI” and “We believe that this entire text is AI.”
Snopes doesn’t depend solely on AI detection tools, which vary in reliability, and instead considers the tools’ results as one of several data points toward judging an image’s authenticity. For Pangram, we bear in mind the platform’s strong performance in third-party and internal evaluations, as well as criticisms of the tool.
For further reading, we previously debunked an AI-generated image supposedly showing quadruplet sisters posing with a cake on their 90th birthday.
In late summer 2026, new laws went into effect requiring any individual under 5 feet, 2 inches to use a booster seat when driving or riding in cars, regardless of age.
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In late summer 2026, social media posts claimed that new laws had gone into effect requiring all car drivers and passengers below a certain height to use a booster seat, regardless of their age.
The details changed from post to post (archived), and varied from state to state, but the most common version of the rumor suggested the law applies to anyone under 5 feet, 2 inches in height.
(Facebook)
Snopes readers contacted us looking for more information about the variety of claims.
In short, all the similar rumors are false. No such laws have been passed or are set to come into effect anywhere in the United States.
Searches on DuckDuckGo, Google and Yahoo uncovered no news reports or evidence about the supposed changes. Reputable local news media outlets would have covered such a story if any of them were true.
It was not possible to definitively determine the origin of the claims. They appeared to be part of a series of AI-generated images promoting new, fictitious state laws. AI-generated fake laws have become a relatively common “template” of rumor that circulates on social media. Snopes has debunked several examples over the past year.
However, the posts spreading the booster seat claim include a second type of image — also AI-generated — of an adult woman sitting in a car seat. Investigating those alleged photos revealed numerous signs they were AI-generated.
For example, one image (shown below) includes a strange white artifact in the center of the harness-style buckle (which should be gray, given the color of the woman’s top) and the metallic section of her cup doesn’t correctly fit into the rest of the flask on the left side. The woman’s hair on her shoulders also looks unnatural — it almost looks more like a net than hair, with individual strands zigzagging erratically. (This effect is even more clear zoomed in).
(Facebook user Kelsey Biggs)
In addition, Facebook, the platform where most examples of the claim were posted, had labeled the above image and several others as AI-generated content. Running the images throughothergenerative AIdetection tools supported this. (Let us note: these tools are fallible, and we recommend using them only as supporting evidence).
Investigating the laws around child-safe car seats and booster seats in each U.S. state and territory led to several sites that contain lists of all car seat, booster seat and seatbelt laws, as of this writing. The laws all specifically mention children, and many designate their requirements based on a combination of age, height and weight. When limitations based on height and weight are included, they tend to be set at for children under 80 pounds and shorter than 4 feet, 9 inches, several inches below the limits suggested by the fictitious laws. None of the authentic laws mention adults under 5 feet, 2 inches being mandated to ride or drive in booster seats.
Sources
Ahne, Andi AhneAndi. “Viral Car Seat Claim Targeting Short Adults Hits North Dakota.” Hot 97-5, 11 Sept. 2026, https://hot975fm.com/viral-car-seat-law-myth-explained/.
Christensen, Laerke. “Did US States Ban ‘aimless Driving’ via ‘House Bill 626’? Hit the Brakes before Sharing Claim.” Snopes, 16 May 2026, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/aimless-driving-house-bill-626/.
Izzo, Jack. “Did Several US States Ban Line Dancing via ‘House Bill 417’? Here’s the Truth.” Snopes, 19 May 2026, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/line-dancing-ban/.
Rosiles, Mateo. “Viral Texas Booster Seat Law for Adults Is Fake. Here’s the Real Law.” USA TODAY, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/state/texas/2026/08/03/texas-dps-debunks-viral-claim-about-booster-seats-for-short-drivers/91149653007/. Accessed 16 Sept. 2026.
